CaptionA firefighting plane sheds its load over the Tupras Oil refinery. The refinery had been on fire since an earthquake hit the area early the day before. Firefighters could not pump water to fight the blaze, because the quake had knocked out electricity to the region. The earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the Richter scale, claimed more than 17,000 lives and made hundreds of thousands homeless. It was not only a humanitarian disaster, but had a severe impact on the Turkish economy, as the affected area formed the industrial heart of the country.
